All the Devils are Here
Book 16 in the Gamache series is another masterfully written mystery full of suspense! Bravo Louise Penny!
Synopsis: On their first night in Paris, the Gamaches gather as a family for a bistro dinner with Armand's godfather, the billionaire Stephen Horowitz. Walking home together after the meal, they watch in horror as Stephen is knocked down and critically injured in what Gamache knows is no accident, but a deliberate attempt on the elderly man's life.
When a strange key is found in Stephen's possession it sends Armand, his wife Reine-Marie, and his former second-in-command at the Sûreté, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, from the top of the Tour d'Eiffel, to the bowels of the Paris Archives, from luxury hotels to odd, coded, works of art.
It sends them deep into the secrets Armand's godfather has kept for decades.
A gruesome discovery in Stephen's Paris apartment makes it clear the secrets are more rancid, the danger far greater and more imminent, than they realized.
Soon the whole family is caught up in a web of lies and deceit. In order to find the truth, Gamache will have to decide whether he can trust his friends, his colleagues, his instincts, his own past. His own family.
For even the City of Light casts long shadows. And in that darkness devils hide.
How was the audio version?
I have listened to the majority of this series on audio, first with the late Ralph Cosham and now with Robert Bathurst, both who amazingly capture the voices of the characters so that even when I pick up the print copy, I can hear them in my head as I'm reading. Needless to say, I was ecstatic to see that my library had it on CD for my 10 hour drive to Rochester, MN for my preop appointment at Mayo.
What about this book and series appeals to you the most?
Penny is supremely gifted at crafting intelligent, thoughtful mysteries with a large amount of atmosphere and action. This intricately plotted tales grabbed my interest from the beginning and the mysteries have kept me intrigued until the end. Also, the characters in these books seem to have become real people in my life, and I’m always looking forward to where their lives will go in each instalment.
Can this book be read as a stand alone, or do I need to start at the beginning?
Definitely read this series in order. It's critical or you will miss the history and the ways the characters are connected, which is half the pleasure of reading this series.
Do you recommend this series?
Oh yes! This is a wonderful mystery series full of family dynamics and complex characters.
